M E E T: T O M M Y T R U I T T
What is your favorite part about the process?
One of my favorite things is just that it’s in person. That is something I am very grateful for in the time of COVID. I really love the tablework aspect of the show, and the dramaturgy. I love being able to really take the time to delve into the material and actually explore it, and explore it for its own artistic purpose. That’s been really, really rewarding and exciting.
What does your rehearsal process look like as an understudy for two roles?
I was scared when I first [started]. For one character, it’s very easy...you’re able to devote all your attention to it. With two, it forces you to split focus. I try to highlight [my lines] in different colors. Blocking is a little more complicated, and I’m still figuring that part of the process out...it’s definitely been harder for me to get completely devoted to one character because I have multiple characters I need to fully devote myself to.
Something I’ve been working on is being able to split Banquo from my mind and only focus on the Witch, and split the Witch from my mind and only focus on Banquo. I think that just comes with practice.
What was your experience with or attitude toward Shakespeare before the production? Has the production changed this?
Coming into college, I was like, Shakespeare terrifies me. I don't like it. And then I was able to work on Hamlet last spring as well before the pandemic. And that started to change my attitudes towards Shakespeare. Then coming into this show just solidified that I really do enjoy it. It didn't have to be five hours long. You can have a short, concise, but still super interesting and crazy world that you're exploring.
Do you feel like your own person in the role?
It’s more of a collaborative process early. I realized that I have to be my own artist, but I still have to stay truthful to the character [the other actors] are crafting. But that still leaves a lot of artistic license for me...it comes in the delivery of the lines and things like that where I can follow my own impulses and not feel like I have to act the exact same way as [the person I’m understudying].
What is it like putting on theatre in COVID times?
It doesn't feel that different, because we have socially distanced classes. I would say that the most different part of it is not sitting right next to your castmates during rehearsal. So in a way it's been kind of nice, because I think it's so easy to be a talker..and like now you're kind of forced out of it!
What part of the show do you want the audience to pay attention to?
The theme of corruptibility is really interesting - who corrupts, what corrupts, and the descent into madness. The other thing that is really cool to think about is just how wild this show would have been to the audience it was shown to [in Shakespearan times]. This was before the Salem witch trials, so witches were not okay! It’s cool to see the uniqueness of Macbeth compared to other Shakespeare shows.
The dramaturgy team has worked so hard, and the cast has worked so hard, and the crew has worked so hard, all during COVID. That’s just crazy to think that we're doing theater now and, you know, we have our costumes with our masks incorporated into them. I never would've thought that would happen...I'm really proud of all of us for coming together and doing this during a pandemic. That's really exciting.
Do you think COVID affects your ability to bond with your castmates?
Absolutely. I am grateful that I know the majority of the people in this cast, so that I didn't have to miss out on that opportunity to get to know my castmates in depth. [The rehearsal structure] is really different, like having to air out the space, usually you would go on your break and you can stay in the room, do whatever you need to. It's weird to be like, ‘all right, get out!’
Professor Shively also blocks the show in a way that there are very few moments if any, at least for Banquo and Witch 1, where I feel like COVID is affecting what I'm doing. I would say though, like not being able to play games and doing those warmups and spending that time with my cast mates has affected the rehearsal process.
It's almost made [my rehearsal] a little easier because now I can mouth along the words of the people I’m understudying and not feel bad about it because I have my mask on!